Take Place
by Sheldon The Whale
Summary: Ciel Phantomhive has wanted revenge for over three years now, even at the price of his soul. But some don't agree with his methods and their price. A creature stronger than Sebastian has wormed its way into his life, and refuses to leave. No pairings or Citrus. Family, Hurt/Comfort, and Humour.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay I know I said I'd be writing humour/parody stuff but this is different. The main genres are family, drama, humour, and some adventure/action shit I don't know. Took me a while to get the confidence to post this, so flames are welcome!**

**The bargain I made with myself was that I'd post, only if I took _everyone's _suggestions to heart. So if you see a spelling mistake or have questions about the plot or even if you think my wording needs to change, please say so.**

**Updates are every Saturday (Sunday if something comes up), each chapter is 2k-3k (I'll try to keep it there).**

**IMPORTANT: Tell me if i should write this according to the anime, or the manga. You guys will be deciding that.**

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><p><em>How do you recognize, the dirty face of gold? Behind that crooked line, where you never knew you'd go.<em>

_We Come Running_

Youngblood Hawke

"Protection?" The Earl of Phantomhive drew his gaze from the papers before him to Sebastian Michaelis, his butler.

"Indeed, it appears the queen is concerned for The Marchioness." His servant responded, serving his master his mid-afternoon snack, though it could easily be considered a dessert. "This evening's treat is a dark chocolate ganache served with Assam tea." He placed the fine china sporting dark golden tea next to the pristine pastry.

Ciel looked back to the information gathered by Sebastian, "Marchioness Katherine Lennox, recently widowed. She's managed her husband's company rather well, given her lack of knowledge in business." He took a moment to sip his tea while his butler stood by the cart, awaiting instruction. "Lacking children of her own she had donated generously to local orphanages, going as far as to adopt a child after her husband's passing. Interesting." He succumbed to the dessert before him at that moment, neglecting the information.

Sebastian grinned in a sinister fashion, "It appears as though the Marchioness adopted the child to replace the absence of her husband then."

Ciel ignored his morbid humor to continue in his pondering on the matter. He paused in his inhalation of the ganache to speak. "Her Majesty has befriended the Marchioness recently, and suspects the death of her husband was not an accident."

The butler nodded to his master's stating of the reviewed information. "Yes, however, why would her majesty require you to protect the Marchioness?" He collected the china from Ciel's desk once he finished.

The Earl huffed. "That is none of our concern. As the Queen's guard dog I shall do as she asks of me." He returned to the papers, closely examining the picture of Lady Katherine. "If we are to protect her we must know of her whereabouts. Sebastian, I want to know her daily schedule, as well as any events she may be holding or attending to in the future, public or private. Based on that information we should be able to hire appropriate yet discreet guards to protect the Marchioness."

Sebastian bowed at the waist slightly, of course when the 13 year old said 'we' he meant 'you.' "Yes, young master. Though what shall we do about the threat proposed in the meantime." He asked, referring to the second half of the Queen's letter. Her instructions were to dispose of the threat to ensure the Marchioness' safety.

"Lady Katherine will act as bait. Once the threat attacks, we will know who to eliminate," Ciel said nonchalantly. He returned his attention to the papers regarding projected profits of a new Funtom candy to start production within the next month.

Sebastian smirked discreetly and turned to remove the cart from his master's office. "Of course sir, one could expect no less." He commented, referring to the boy's own tactics to obtaining his revenge.

~*O*~

The next day, Lady Katherine Lennox sat in her husband's office, which had become hers since his passing. Her son, Charles, was currently on the other side of the manor in the middle of piano lessons. She considered herself truly fortunate to have been able to adopt the child, who was the sole reason she got up from her bed every morning.

The company she now maintained traded expensive furs between Europe, Asia, and North America. However she was currently reviewing the proposal to acquire markets in South Africa to trade more exotic furs. The prospect could expand the company's wealth greatly; however the costly endeavor could also ruin them. They were rather late to the game, so to speak.

She sighed and set the papers down, rubbing her temples with thinly gloved hands. Her husband had loved the company, perhaps more than she would have liked, however it was his 'child' not hers. She felt keeping it alive would keep some of him with them but now it was more of a burden than a blessing.

The Lady of the house called her handmaiden, Mary, into the office. Mary had been Katherine's servant from the day she was born, faithfully serving and protecting the Marchioness her entire life. She trusted Mary more than any other member of the household, and often forgot her position around the maid.

"Mary, it's been a long day hasn't it?" She opened her green eyes to watch her companion's reaction.

Her maid seemed confused. "Pardon me ma'am, but its still morning."

Katherine stood as though she'd agreed. "Which is why it is the perfect time for shopping." She smiled. The office was a prison she was keen to escape.

Mary smiled as well, knowing full well that her master and friend deserved a break from her work. "I shall get the carriage ready then madam." She curtsied and left.

After checking in with Charles and changing into more appropriate attire, Lady Katherine stood at the front door of her manor, tucking a wayward curl of black hair behind her ear. Given it was fall, the English weather was rather brisk until afternoon, so Mary helped put on a thin woman's frock coat for the time being. The two grinned cheerfully at each other and headed to the carriage that awaited them.

~*O*~

Ciel Phantomhive was currently seated at his desk with a look of concentration glued to his face. Official papers were shoved to the side of his desk while a stack of cards in the shape of a pyramid sat in front of him. He knew it would be wiser to focus on his work but the task of creating a tower was much more interesting to the child than business. He stood to add a new layer to the growing masterpiece when there was a knock on the door.

He panicked and stared at the pyramid/tower. That was undoubtedly Sebastian at the door with an update on Katherine Lennox. The Earl quickly looked around for a place to hide when a second knock came on the door.

"Young master?" the suave muffled voice of his butler came from the hallway. _Damn. _He opened the main drawer of his desk and smashed the tower flat, ruining his hard work. The cards were swiped into the drawer messily and his papers were thrown in front of his chair. Ciel sat down with a thud and feigned nonchalance.

"Come in." He said dully. Sebastian opened the door and walked into the room to see his master with ruffled hair and his bow undone over his blue jacket. The demon noticed a playing card on the floor, as well as his master's uneven breathing. He smiled knowingly, which only agitated the boy. "What is it?!" he spat out.

Sebastian cleared his throat, though he didn't need to. "It appears as though Lady Katherine has decided to go shopping in London without prior arrangement," he informed his master.

Ciel paid attention immediately. "What? I haven't assigned her a guard yet. She can't venture into public now!" His mood turned sour quickly. A cerulean eye locked onto Sebastian's red ones. "Follow her. That is an order Sebastian."

"If I am to follow Lady Katherine your security will be compromised sir." He reminded.

"Then alert the other servants of your absence, they are more than capable. Besides, it's unlikely we will be receiving any 'visitors' during the day." Ciel had clearly calmed down. "It's only shopping, she won't be out long."

"Yes, young master." Sebastian bowed with his hand over his heart before silently walking out of the room.

~*O*~

Though it was barely past eleven, London remained darker than usual. The overcast sky and thick fog that clung to taller buildings remained, yet to be burned off by the sun.

Lady Katherine strolled through the chilly air with her head high and a smile on her face with her handmaiden following close behind, completely oblivious to the rifle aimed at her skull. She continued window shopping with her best friend before her eyes caught sight of a beautiful emerald necklace in the display. With an excited gasp the Marchioness walked into the store.

"Take your time." A woman atop one of the higher roofs further down the street muttered to herself. She wore a dull grey sweatshirt and brown cargo pants, effectively blending into the environment at the risk of looking severely out of place. She casually tightened the suppressor at the end of the barrel of her rifle, which was also out of place.

The woman sighed and watched her breath turn to vapor in the autumn air, glancing back down the scope for her target. Crouched beside a chimney, as well as behind the half wall of the roof's edge she remained hidden from view on the streets below. However, Sebastian wasn't on the streets below.

"Might I inquire as to why you are aiming your rifle at the Marchioness?" His baritone voice sounded from behind her.

The young woman didn't bother to look over her shoulder. She continued to chew her gum contently. "I'm going to _shoot_ her with it."

Sebastian expected her to be somewhat surprised that he was also on the roof, as well as the fact that he was sure to remain completely silent in his approach. "I'm afraid I can't let that happen. The Marchioness is under my protection." He slowly reached into his tailcoat for the awaiting silverware.

"Sucks for you." He still couldn't see her face fully as she was turned towards the street, as well as how her shoulder-length black hair kept moving in the slight breeze. "She should've hired a better bodyguard."

The Phantomhive servant took into account how well armed the young woman was. Besides her rifle, which looked to be made of some odd composite rather than wood or metal, there was a noticeable bulge on the back of her trousers which indicated that she had a handgun. There were also three knives in holders strapped to her thighs above the multi-pocketed pants, blatantly obvious.

Confident, Sebastian drew his butter knives as her finger started to tighten around the trigger. He took a step to throw them when she backed up, and lifted her rifle. The woman swung the massive gun towards him, leaning to counter balance its weight. The cutlery was thrown as she fired and ducked at the same time. The 10mm shell rammed straight through the right side of his chest and out the other side, continuing on over London.

While he took a step back to adjust, crimson eyes saw his target duck in time to evade the knives. They embedded themselves into the brick of the chimney she was braced against before her hand gripped the handles and pulled them out to throw them in his direction. Sebastian sidestepped on the roof, now below her due to the slant. The woman loaded another bullet into the chamber with speed akin to his own and lifted her rifle. The demon drew forks and knives in both hands this time, leaping over the apex of the roof to throw them while she aimed for where he would likely land. The butler turned sideways in midair to decrease his chances of getting shot again, however the second shell met its target, this time his thigh.

The woman turned around to face the street again while he landed roughly. Her target was exiting the store with her maid carrying a bag. By the time she faced her opponent again he was on his feet and running towards her. Before she could react he slammed her into the brick chimney with his forearm against her throat. Her vision shook for a moment before she focused on him again.

"Who sent you to assassinate the Marchioness?" He growled out, angry that she managed to do him damage such as this. A human got the better of him. _I've lost my edge._

She bared her teeth at him and hissed in anger, allowing the demon to easily see she had a set of small fangs. He was surprised for only a moment before narrowing his eyes at her. Sebastian drew in a steady breath to inhale her scent; however it was not one he recognized. His pupils narrowed to their cat-like slits while his eyes burned pink. In response her own eyes changed, the pupils becoming slits of their own though resembling the shape of a narrow plus sign. Rather than pink, her irises remained their stunning cobalt blue, giving the illusion of flames like his did.

Sebastian pressed harder on her throat, so she wasn't human then. "It is in your best interest to answer."

She laughed humorlessly, "Don't you think pink's a bit _girly_?" She sneered, locking eyes with the fiend.

With his attention on her face he failed to see her left arm draw a knife from its holder on her right thigh. Both butler and assassin didn't notice the slick teal substance coating the blade like slime. Regardless, the woman shifted to get a better angle. Her sudden movement caused Sebastian's arm to crush her windpipe, but that didn't stop her from plunging the blade into his side.

~*O*~

Standing from the dining table, Ciel straightened his jacket with a faint frown on his childish face. It had been nine hours since he ordered Sebastian to follow Lady Katherine; the Earl was starting to worry. It was incredibly rare for the punctual butler to be even a minute late, and he'd expressed his 'concern' for leaving Ciel alone to follow the order. The 13 year old had expected him to return before afternoon tea.

While walking to his bedroom to retire for the night with Tanaka in tow, Ciel contemplated the demon's reasons for being late. The odds of the Marchioness shopping this late were incredibly low, however it was possible Sebastian had encountered and apprehended the threat to his 'charge'. _Even if that was the case he shouldn't be taking this long. _Then again, the threat could be of supernatural origin like the last case. Ciel shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts. His aunt was a murderer, and dealt with as such. Tanaka watched the young Earl's distress with a worried look, certain of his thoughts but saying nothing.

Ciel stopped at his door for Tanaka to open before heading into his room, the steward following. He was about to walk into the bathroom to prepare for bed when a knock came from the door. He turned around to say something unsavory to one of the idiots posing as servants when he locked eyes with Sebastian.

"I apologize for my tardiness young master." He bowed, placing one hand over his heart.

The child stared a moment before continuing to his bathroom. "Don't be late again." He said dismissively, hiding the relief he felt at his servant's return. Sebastian nodded to Tanaka as the Earl left the room. The older man returned to his chibi form and strolled out the room.

Candelabra in hand the infallible butler followed his master, his breathing uneven. Ciel failed to notice as Sebastian removed his clothes, instead focused on determining why his servant was late. The silence became thick with tension before Ciel finally spoke.

"What happened?" He asked, feigning indifference.

The devil drew in a quick breath in preparation for his explanation but it sounded pained, setting Ciel on edge. "While following Lady Katherine I encountered an assassin. She attempted to kill the Marchioness when I intervened, however I did not expect her to fight as well as she did." He paused in his explanation to choose his words carefully, starting to clean Ciel's back. "Though she wasn't human I was unable to identify her species."

This got the child's attention quickly. "You don't know?" He asked. The demon tended to know, well, everything.

"Yes, however I was able to defeat her after some time." His face remained strained as he moved onto Ciel's arms. The Earl remained suspicious.

"It must have been quite the battle then." He noted, watching his servant's reaction, and continuing when there was none. "Are you injured?"

"My wounds are minor, nothing you need to worry about young master." He said with a pained smile, fooling no one.

Ciel faced forward again, uneasy as Sebastian kept bathing him.

~*O*~

Though relieved that his butler had returned after such a long time, Ciel Phantomhive was unable to sleep peacefully that night. It wasn't that he was plagued by nightmares, but an uneasy feeling had clawed its way into his gut and refused to leave. Waking every three hours or so the Earl managed to catch some sleep, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

When Sebastian came into his room the following morning to wake him, Ciel had already woken. The demon didn't seem to notice as he walked to the window to open white curtains and let some light in. Ciel listened with worry painted on his usually passive features as the steps seemed slower than usual, the curtains drawn back much more slowly than they had been in the past. He could hear the china being set down too roughly as his butler poured him tea, having yet to say a word.

Ciel sighed and sat up, turning to face his servant when he paused mid-yell. Sebastian was never the darkest of people but now his skin rivaled the white of his sheets. Though his uniform was clean it looked like the buttons were done unevenly, his tie was loose and his tailcoat was undone.

"Sebastian..." He asked tentatively. The devil didn't even look at him, instead opting to stare into the cup of tea he was about to hand his master.

Ciel reached out to him slowly as Sebastian started to sway, jumping out of bed when his tall body crashed to the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Sorry for the delay**

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><p><em>When your heart doesn't bleed the way it used to, help is on the way.<em>

_Help_

Galantis

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><p>Whilst wearing plastic gloves, Tanaka removed the bandage and placed it to the side. The stab wound beneath released a rancid scent, teal veins branching out from the injury. The oddly colored substance oozed from the pale flesh like lava from the earth.<p>

The old steward glanced up to his young master. The Earl was seated on the other side of Sebastian's bed, staring at the wound with an expressionless face. However his eyes betrayed his distress. Tanaka cleaned and redressed the area with thick gauze. Sebastian remained unconscious through it all. He wore only the trousers of his butler's uniform, the top half bare and consistently drenched in sweat. His heart continued to beat erratically, fever nearly scalding to the touch.

Fifteen hours after he had collapsed and yet despite Tanaka's best efforts Sebastian was no better, rather, he had steadily declined. He'd never seen the teal substance before, but it was surely toxic. The slime smelled of rotten eggs and dissolved the cloth he'd used to clean the wound as it sat in the waste bin.

Again, his gaze returned to his master. The child had been nearly silent since Sebastian's collapse, save for ordering the butler to be brought to his room and for his wound to be cared for regularly. Tanaka made note that he did not wish to call the doctor (though he had a sneaking suspicion as to why that was). Instead, Ciel sat in the uncomfortable wooden chair, leaving only to eat and use the bathroom. The other servants behaved in a similar manner, hovering outside the door instead.

As Tanaka turned to leave, his master spoke. "Tanaka." The sound of Ciel's voice surprised him. It was strained, thick as though he had just woken.

He faced the Earl, "Yes young master?"

"Prepare a carriage immediately." he said, the child's voice near a whisper.

"Young master, it is well past midnight…" He let the sentence hang. Though he was a servant Tanaka had served Ciel's father and watched the single-eyed boy grow up. He was held in a higher regard then the others but now he was walking on thin ice.

Ciel looked up at him with a vicious glare. "I am well aware of the time." He growled out.

Tanaka closed his eyes and bowed in respect, "Of course sir."

~o-o~

Ciel kept his gaze locked on the outside world as it passed. The carriage seemed rather large without his butler sitting across from him, the seat lacking a condescending smile or accusing glare. However that was the reason for his venturing out into London at such an ungodly hour. Though sleep tried to wrap its claws around him the incessant anxiety gnawing away at his gut kept him awake.

The lanterns lighting some buildings kept the roads decently lit, however where they were going there would be no lights. As the townhouses started to fade behind him and the homeless started to grow, his heartbeat grew as well. Entering the poorer side of London at three a.m. while wearing what were clearly a nobleman's clothes was certainly a terrible idea, however that didn't stop him.

He asked the driver, Bardroy, to stop as they neared the heart of the east end. Once Ciel exited the carriage he noticed the 'chef' was clearly distressed. Without a second thought he started walking along the sidewalk, deeper into the slums.

"Uh, young master." Bard said as he started to leave the safety of the carriage.

Ciel stopped to turn and face him. "What is it?" His tone, though cold, wavered slightly.

Bardroy coughed. "Are…are you sure you want to go alone?" he said, his gaze flickering to the men watching from the alleys.

Ciel narrowed his eyes, sticking to his resolve. "Yes. If I do not return within the hour, you are free to come look for me." At this, he turned back around and stalked off into the night. Behind him Bard shuffled in the box seat.

Listening to the clicking of his heels the Earl continued to take random turns as he came to intersections, never venturing in or close to alleyways, steadily distancing himself from Bard. The night seemed deathly still as he watched his breath freeze before him. Prostitutes watched him with curious eyes, some going as far to try and taunt him in the glacial night air. As soon as he was sure his chef couldn't hear him, he eyed a walkway that was too wide to be an alley, too narrow to be a road. Taking the risk he entered the dimly lit area and looked skyward, taking a deep breath.

"Grell!" He called into the dark, his voice lacking its usual condescending demeanor. "Grell!" He called again, this time listening to his echoes. "Grell, I know you can hear me!"

"So what if I can?" The taunting voice of his aunt's murderer came from behind him.

Ciel jumped and turned to face the reaper, noticing how he wore that red coat so that it hung below his too-broad shoulders. "I need you to help me."

Grell laughed at that, waving a hand at the Earl in dismissal. "Quite the valiant effort kid but why would I help _you_?"

"You came when I called." Ciel supplied.

The older male pouted, "Well that was only because I thought dear Bassy was with you. How romantic, the dark Sebastian calling to his crimson reaper in the dead of the night~!" He started to sway his hips side to side in a supposedly sensual manner, Ciel only glowered. "But if it's just you there's no reason for me to stay. So I bid you adieu~" He waved again and started walking away.

"It's about Sebastian, he's injured." Ciel said disdainfully, asking this man for help was certainly a last resort. "He's going to die." He heard how his voice nearly choked in saying it.

The reaper kept walking. "Oh please, Bassy'll be fine. Demons _are _stronger than human's you know."

Ciel's hands clenched into fists, "Yes I know that you imbecile! Yesterday afternoon he was stabbed by a creature whose species he was unable to identify. This morning he collapsed." He took a breath, "His condition has only worsened since then."

This time Grell stopped, but didn't turn around. "Is he awake?"

The child Earl was shocked by Grell's serious tone. "No, the wound is leaking a toxic substance and he has remained unconscious."

He turned around now, a deep frown set upon his face before his usual manic look took over. "Who did this to my Sebas-chan?!"

Ciel blinked and intensified his one-eyed glare. "Some woman assassin who isn't human. That's all he said." He suddenly found himself furious at the butler for withholding information.

"Then I'll tear her apart!" Grell growled out, baring his impossibly sharp teeth, "That bitch won't get away with killing my beloved!" He started towards the nearest wall to leap onto the building.

The thirteen year-old panicked. "Grell no! She might be able to help."

This gave the reaper pause. "Why would some bitch who tried to kill Bassy help him!?"

He sighed. "At least try and force her to, she's the only one who knows what she did." He stated, calming down.

Grell rolled his eyes in a dramatic manner, "And if she doesn't?"

Ciel smiled sadistically, "_Then_ you can tear her apart." And he would take great joy in watching it happen.

~o-o~

_The view is considerably better here,_ she thought. The woman was currently sitting on a ledge atop the large four-faced clock known as Big Ben. She swung her legs back and forth idly, admiring the darkness. For one such as herself the darkness was a welcome friend, offering a place to hide and relieving her eyes of the harsh light that shone during daylight.

The other day, a demon had interrupted her attempt to end the life of one Kathrine Lennox. She found it odd that he would do so; it wasn't as though his kind was well known for protecting humans. Unless he was fond of her, but his scent hadn't been in her manor at all when she infiltrated the building to gain information. So why would the monster stop her?

She shook her head to clear the unwanted thoughts. She made it a point to stay well away from demons. They were foul at heart and incited pain and chaos for fun. Her past experiences with the creatures were nothing to joke about.

As her icy-blue eyes surveyed the night she leaned back against the corner of the clock tower behind her, adjusting her silver earbuds and changing the song playing on her phone. Being up this high, to feel the cleared wind whipping her black hair to the side, was calming. Like the night she embraced the wind, the exhilarating feeling of it caressing her features as she ran from the dangers of her existence.

Though one ear was listening to music the other heard the scuffing of heeled shoes on concrete. She paid it no mind, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. As the scuff was followed by another, she realized someone was running towards her. For the sounds to be so loud they must be above the buildings, and she was reminded of the demon from earlier. Yet she was downwind and couldn't smell him. Now that she thought about it, what was that smell?

"You killed my Bassy~!" A shout from above her alerted her to the precise location of someone above her.

She stood and darted to the left to avoid being attacked, eyes opening to see a man with incredibly long crimson hair shoving a pair of children's scissors into the ledge where she'd been. He pulled them out of the metal and turned to face her, snarling like a beast.

"I won't let you get away with this bitch!" He darted at her again, to which she fluidly jumped onto the apex of the clock tower.

"Get away with what?" She said with a smirk, he simply had too much red on to be taken seriously, and then there were the scissors.

He looked up at her, holding the red scissors like they were deadly weapons. "You killed my Bassy!" he repeated.

"Bassy?" She asked, blinking as the wind tossed her hair in her face. She tucked one side of it behind her ear.

"Yes _Bassy_! My Sebastian was attacked by a whore and stabbed!" He started moving up and down with every syllable comically.

"The demon?"

"And my butler!" Another voice sounded from below her. She leaned over the edge of the clock tower to see a boy in fine clothing glaring up at her from the balcony below the red man. He sounded properly pissed.

She narrowed her eyes at the two, breathing in the odd scent of Mr. Red and the boy, he was human at least. "You have a demon butler?" she asked, mildly interested.

"Yes, Sebastian Michaelis." The boy spoke as though _she _were the child.

Her eyebrow twitched at his tone, "So if he's your butler than why was he guarding Lennox?" She asked.

"I was tasked with protecting Lady Katherine; Sebastian was to follow her yesterday before I could assign proper guards." He growled out. The boy certainly had attitude.

She frowned at this and jumped down to the balcony to stand before the boy. He was short, even for his age, which she guessed was 11. He wore an eye patch over his right eye; the other seemed used to glaring at others. "Still, I didn't kill him."

"No, but he _is_ about to die." The boy said. "The wound is festering and leaking a teal substance, and it's your doing."

_Teal substance? _That didn't make sense. She just stabbed him with a knife, in reality she thought he had just been surprised and allowed her to deal some more minor damage before he faltered enough for her to escape. But if he was poisoned then he must have been in too much pain to stop her. Too much pain for a demon was an unbearable agony for her.

She crossed her arms as Mr. Red jumped from his perch to stand behind her. "So why are you here now?"

Mr. Red made chopping motions with his scissors. "You're going to fix Bassy or I'll chop you to bits!" he hissed.

She still didn't turn to face him, opting for talking to the actual brains of the operation. "So you want me to heal the demon who tried to kill me?" She asked, mildly surprised they thought this would work.

He leveled his gaze. "Yes, we do."

The knife she pulled to stab the demon was a normal stainless steel blade. It hadn't been enchanted or blessed, and contained no poisons or venoms. But, now that she thought about it, the blade sheathed beside it had been used recently on a creature from her home. Deep in thought she removed that blade, and sure enough it was coated in a thick teal slime. "The hell?" She breathed.

"That's the substance infecting Sebastian." The boy said, leaning back away from her. She could understand why, it smelled awful. Mr. Red peered over her shoulder at the knife, but for once he was silent.

She sheathed the blade. "Either way, I'm not helping you."

"And why might that be?" He asked, his features set like stone in hatred. It looked unbecoming on a face so young.

"Sebastian is a demon, he deserves to die." She spat.

Mr. Red huffed, "He doesn't deserve to die just because of what he is!"

She turned to face him, "Demons are evil, of course he deserves it. They're creatures built of hatred and malice!" She hissed. Her pupils turned to slits with an odd cross shape, what Sebastian saw before, while her blue eyes blazed like fire, glowing.

Mr. Red's eyes widened and he backed away from her. Behind her the boy blinked. When he spoke, his voice was calm, "So his species warrants his death?"

She froze.

How many times had she bled for her existence? How many times did someone attempt to steal her life because they were simply scared of her? And now she was doing it to a butler, a demon butler. No, she had defended herself just like always. He tried to end her life and she had simply done what was necessary to preserve it.

As she faced the boy to tell him just that, his one eyed expression caught her off guard. Since he'd made himself known the only look she'd seen in his eyes was hatred and the glint of sadistic glee when Mr. Red mentioned cutting her up. _Those_ _emotions_ on that _boy's_ face made her stop. There was pain in that gaze, carefully hidden under a mask of anger. She knew that look, she'd worn it herself. She'd been in that kind of silent pain suffered it and endured. She'd come out the other end battle scarred and broken, cracks in the surface of glass from where it was glued together again. It was whole, but never the same.

And he would too; he would end up just like she did once he left the hell he was experiencing. The thought tore at her heart.

Her gaze softened as she watched the boy maintain his scowl. "I'll help your butler." She said quietly.

His smile was laced with the one kind of darkness she didn't embrace. "Good. My name is Ciel Phantomhive, that is Grell Sutcliff." He said, eyes flickering to the red haired man when referring to him as he held out his hand.

She took it in hers. "Colton Venat." They shook.


	3. Chapter 3

**I have an important question for you readers, should this Fanfiction follow the Kuroshitsuji anime or the manga? Review, PM, or take part in the pole on my profile please. Your answers will decide the fate of this story.**

**Also, for some unknown reason I get a bit carried away when writing gore, so**

**WARNING: Blood and junk. Sebastian's junk. But not that kind of junk... XD**

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><p>But<em> in truth you know that I can still see the blood in the water. And what I've done ('s) not enough to hope you out of here.<em>

_Blood Stutter_

Handsome Ghost

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><p>Colton poked at the inflamed flesh with a finger, recoiling as it made a squishy sound. The entire room reeked of sulfur and sweat, both coming from the unconscious butler before her.<p>

She had followed the boy, Ciel, back to his carriage. The driver wore a chef's uniform, which lead her to believe Ciel was ill-equipped to handle situations like this. She understood why a doctor couldn't be called, but to have your chef drive the carriage?

So it was with great (and properly placed) reluctance that she climbed into the wooden contraption after the boy. Once they had set off, she made a point to stare out the window and not at the miniature man sitting diagonal to her, though she felt his cold gaze on her being. Throughout the entire ride not a word was spoken.

Ciel had introduced her to the Phantomhive staff as a _special_ doctor, and they greeted her as though she were an esteemed guest. The manor was ostentatious, yet she'd seen much grander mansions. When she told Ciel this he merely huffed and led her to the foul-smelling room.

The room was simple really. The only furniture there was a desk, two wooden chairs, a wardrobe and a bed. On that bed laid the pale and sweat-slicked form of one Sebastian Michaelis.

The first thought that came to mind was what he would look like healthy and not straining for each breath (she assumed somewhere along the lines of sex incarnate). The second thought was that he was well on his way to death's door, if he wasn't there already. Sebastian's upper half was bare; his lower half clothed in what would likely be a part of his uniform. The wound was on his right side, just below the ribs. It was angled straight in, undoubtedly piercing his large intestine and the kidney behind it. The muscle under the skin was torn and eaten away, like the edges of burnt paper curling away from a flame. She could see the veins in his near white skin had turned purplish green on his torso, the thinner ones creeping up his chest to a prominent collar bone.

Colton narrowed her eyes at the teal slime, she knew what it was but she didn't know how to get rid of it. The woman poked Sebastian's flesh again, almost smiling at the squishy sound now.

"Are you going to heal him or stand there all day poking at the wound?!" Ciel snapped. She looked up to him from where he stood on the other side of bed.

"You asked me to help and I said I would." Colton reminded him, "I never said I was a doctor."

Ciel stared at her like a parent would a disobedient child. "If you can't help, then _why did you come_?" he growled out, his hands balled into fists.

"Because I was curious." She turned back to the stiff, er, Sebastian. "And I _can _help."

He rolled his eyes at her, she was starting to get a little pissed at the way he treated her like she was stupid. "That seems rather strange. I don't _see _you helping."

Colton stood up straight and crossed her arms. "Alright fine, I'll heal him as best as I can. But, you have to leave."

"Leave?"

"Go to the other side of the manor, take everyone else with you. I don't want a single person on this side of the building besides myself and the butler." She explained. He didn't seem to like this idea.

The boy glared, demanding a reason, "And why should I do such a thing?"

She sighed, why couldn't children just do as their told? "Because Mr. Butler is going to wake up, and I doubt he'll be sunshine and rainbows when he does." She lied. The real reason was she didn't want to scare any of the humans with what was about to be done.

After a moment of comprehending what she said he gave in, "Fine, but after ten minutes I'll be coming back." He notified the woman. She nodded and watched him stomp his way out the door. The other servants sans Tanaka happened to be right there, listening in. They didn't seem to have the sense to leave when they heard their master approach the door.

Colton listened as their steps retreated down the hall, into the foyer, and across the mansion. She strained her ears to hear Ciel describing why they needed to be on the other side of the manor, and heard them come to a stop at the other end in a large hallway. Even then she waited a minute more before looking back at her patient.

He hadn't improved in the time she'd been there, his ebony hair plastered to his skin and his breathing shallow. Colton sighed once more and moved closer to his head. His features were strong and slightly feminine. Not many humans had inherited such a perfect combination of looks, thus further proving he wasn't your average butler.

The fangs that were her elongated canines weren't overly large and semi retractable. Meaning that fully extended they didn't protrude from her lips, and retracted they were still noticeable if someone were to watch her speak closely. They were also hollow, for the purpose of delivering a wide variety of venoms. The main misconception of such venoms was that they were all meant to kill. This wasn't exactly the case. Some had healing properties and others were more acidic than poisonous. And there was one that was an incredibly strong healing elixir she hadn't ever used before. But there was a first time for anything, and she'd have to heal the demon if she wanted to be in Ciel's good graces.

It was with that thought in mind that Colton took a deep breath and leaned down, her gaze focused on the butler's throat. Her mouth opened and her fangs grew in length before she lunged downwards and sunk her teeth into his flesh.

The taste of his blood nearly made her hurl but she merely grimaced and bit down harder, the venom shooting into his veins. She coughed and crimson splattered across the blankets, thick trails of red with thin teal snakes spilling over his throat and soaking the sheets. Colton felt her shoulders shake and shut her eyes, placing her right hand on his arm to stop herself from falling over. The rancid odor intensified and tears slipped from her eyes.

She could feel the strain in her gut, a searing pain as she started running out of the healing venom and pressed herself harder. The nails on her fingers lost their rounded shape and became pointed, under her eyelids her pupils thinned to their slitted cross shape. She felt the body beneath her tremble, the butler's breathing deepened.

As his blood started to drip onto the floor she drew in a deep breath and gripped his arm harder. Though she couldn't see it, the wound in his side started leaking scarlet blood, not slime. When she heard his eyes snap open she did her best to lean away from him. Her ears moved downwards like a frightened dogs and she tensed. _Any moment now…_

When the sound came she felt her muscles lock into place, her jaw nearly closing on his throat. His scream quickly grew into an inhuman screech, shaking the window panes and the air around them. She was grateful that Ciel and the others had gotten as far away as reasonably possible; they would no doubt be suspicious if they heard this. Her grip on his arm tightened once more until she could feel blood welling up under her nails. Through the sound she could hear his wound stitching itself back together.

(0.0)

Ciel sat in the guest bedroom farthest from Sebastian's assigned quarters as possible. The other servants stood in the center of the room, waiting anxiously. Ciel resigned himself to sitting in one of the chairs beside the window, arms and legs crossed as he glared at the night sky.

About two minutes passed before his right eye started to itch. He rubbed at the eye patch absentmindedly when the sensation grew from an itch to a throbbing pain. The Earl froze and slowly put his hand down, realizing the pain must have had something to do with what was happening to Sebastian. As the contract on his eye went from throbbing to burning he started to tense, a thin bead of sweat appearing on his brow. His ears picked up the sound of something terrifying in the distance.

He stole a glance at the servants, only to see they didn't seem to notice anything different. Tanaka sat apart from the other three in his smaller form, sipping tea. Bardroy argued with Mey-Rin about what the 'special doctor' was going to do while Finnian ranted to no one about how there was a family of robins in the garden outside.

None of them heard the sound that steadily grew in his mind until his ears began to ring. The scream struck terror into his very being, his heart hammering like a frightened rabbit's. He looked back out the window and started to shake, his breath coming in near silent bursts and his one eye widened in fear. He told himself it wasn't real but the cramping in his limbs told him that the sound was Sebastian's cries as he was tortured on his deathbed. Colton had tricked him and he fell right for the trap. She spoke of demons with such disgust, _why the hell would she save one? _

As soon as it had started, the sound stopped. The Earl was left panting in his chair, his muscles still tense and his heart still threatening to leap from his frail chest. In an instant he was up from the chair and marching out of the room. The servants parted so he could pass before quickly following behind him.

Ciel reached his butler's room in the servants' quarters and threw open the door without knocking.

XoX

Sebastian breathed in, and back out. In, and out again. A third time, and then he felt the pain. Searing, scalding, burning, piercing, scorching pain that made black dots appear in his perfect vision. He lay very still in his bed, his body aching in every place imaginable. Once he was able to think clearly he tried sitting up, only for the pain to intensify before tapering off as he lay back down.

"Don't, move." Someone panted from beside the bed. He managed to turn his head to see a mess of straight black locks resting on the edge of his mattress. The head lifted for him to lock eyes with the woman from earlier.

Sebastian tensed and tried to sit up again, to the same result. She growled at him, an animalistic sound coming from her throat, "Bitch, what the fuck, did I, just…say?" She wheezed. The butler remained tense and searched for his master through the contract, near panicking. He would know if his soul had been taken or lost, but she could have easily moved him somewhere.

When he did find the young master he was five feet from the door, and fast approaching, _Why wasn't I able to hear him coming?_ He asked himself. The Earl threw open the door, causing it to slam against the wall. The sound made him cringe.

"Sebastian?" he called, though it was obvious he was awake.

He opened his mouth to speak but only managed to cough up blood onto the pillow. _This won't wash out easily, _was his first thought at the sight. And then he saw the blood soaked sheets and decided they could just be burned instead.

The young master turned to the woman beside him. "What did you do?!" he demanded.

She motioned for him to close the door. The thirteen year old turned to the servants and asked that they leave in the most polite and angered voice Sebastian had yet to hear from the boy. When he faced the woman again she spoke. "Healed him." She said, still gasping for breath. She didn't seem to be recovering.

"He's covered in blood; I wouldn't call that healed now would I?" He growled, still not seeing that his butler was awake.

She rolled her eyes. "Look." She fell to the floor, her hair dampened with sweat and blood, though he didn't know who it belonged to. Ciel stepped around the other side of the bed, out of Sebastian's line of vision. He was breathing semi-normally now, though his side felt wet with what was undoubtedly his own blood.

Ciel spoke his name again, quietly now. All he could manage was a grunt in response, _how unseemly. _

"See?" she said, sitting on the floor. "S'all better!" She coughed into her fist and pushed her hair back with a red-stained hand, thus plastering her hair to her head.

The young master seemed relieved and informed him as to the reason for her presence. "Sebastian this is Colton Venat. Though it took some convincing she agreed to heal you."

Colton cleared her throat from her position on the floor. "Yeah about that," she stood and leaned on the desk for support. "I did my best, but…"

He could hear the young master tense, "What happened?"

"Well, there's only so much I could do." She coughed again, "And I'm no expert on demons, but I don't think your butler is healed all the way." If he had the strength he would roll his eyes. "And I'm pretty sure he never will be."

Wait, _what_?

Though he couldn't see the young master he guessed the Earl was glaring. "Then you can rest for today and try again tomorrow." He said, the commanding tone present.

Colton sighed, "No, there is no 'try again'."

"What do you mean?"

She stood fully now, "I mean that I've done all I can, period. I can't heal Sebastian again. Not like I just did." She turned to him and he narrowed his crimson eyes at her, "And you won't be moving for a while. Your voice will come back first but you're not going to be on butler duty anytime soon." She said, her tone serious until she smiled evilly and said, "Doctor's orders."

Ciel shifted on his feet, the soles of his shoes taping against the pooled blood on the floor reminded him of the mess in the room. "How long?"

"I don't know, a week? Two? I don't know how to heal demons, only how to kill 'em." She explained. Sebastian watched her try and fix her hair, only for it to fall out of place in clumps.

The young master started towards the door, "Then you are no longer needed, if there is nothing else you can do."

"Hm. You're right that's probably a good idea…" She started, "But, seeing as I'm the one who harmed Mr. Michaelis, even though he started the fight, and how I was unable to heal him one hundred percent _I _feel that my reputation would be tarnished if I didn't-"

"Spit it out already." The Earl's eyebrow twitched.

"I think I should fill the position of the fallen butler." She said, hands behind her back and doing her best to look professional while splattered in blood and sweat. Sebastian mentally scoffed.

Ciel verbally scoffed, "Don't be absurd, you may be a maid if you so wish it."

"No, see, I was thinking not a servant at all." She stated, "More like, I'm staying and there's nothing you can do about it. Yeah that sounds about right."

The young master narrowed his gaze, his hand on the doorknob, "I will have the others remove you from the grounds at once then." He threatened.

Colton smiled, "Oh please, if your demon was no match for me what do you think a couple of humans are going to be able to do?" she teased.

Sebastian thought about it. The only reason why she had beaten him was because he had underestimated her, he was sure of it. Once he was fully healed she would easily be annihilated. But the servants were certainly no match for her.

His prey seemed to realize this, but the Earl of Phantomhive couldn't back down from a fight because he was scared. He simply had to manipulate his pieces more carefully when dealing with this woman. "They will remove you from the manor as ordered, unless you chose to leave freely now."

She pretended to think about it, "So sorry." Her smirk was eerily reminiscent of his own.

Ciel left the room and Colton followed right behind him. Sebastian used what strength he had to move his head so he was staring at the ceiling again. While the young master had the others fight a battle that was sure to be lost, he would have to lie in his blood soaked sheets until they remembered he was there.


	4. Chapter 4

**I need to know guys, should I follow the anime or the manga? **

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><p><em>Truth be told, I believe I've done this all before. I take your gloom, I cut it up and puff it into bloom.<em>

_Gooey_

Glass Animals

"Y-Young master?" Mey-Rin asked as Ciel prowled down the hall. She'd seen him in a mood before, but now he was stomping down the hall with a snarl set on his face, leaving bloody footprints. It was not a look she'd ever hoped to see on the young master's cherubic features.

The Earl walked into the foyer and turned to face his servants and Miss Colton. She stood to the left of their group, leaning against one of the pillars. At first Mey-Rin was cautious of the woman who was hardly older than herself, but now that Mr. Sebastian actually had been healed of his mysterious ailment she felt relaxed in her presence.

It was obvious the young master did not.

He turned to face the doctor, "This is your last chance, leave this manor at once."

Mey-Rin looked at Ms. Colton with a questioning gaze. Why wouldn't she leave if she was done with fixing Mr. Sebastian?

"I'm not going anywhere." She stated, crossing her arms and glaring at the child. She was blatantly challenging the boy who frightened adults daily.

"Very well then." He sighed. She felt Bardroy tense beside her. The Earl turned to them. "Remove Ms. Colton from the grounds." he started up the stairs towards his room with full-sized Tanaka in tow.

After a minute of awkward tension Bard tried to approach her calmly in order to avoid violence, but as soon as he was in range she took his extended arm in one hand and pulled him forward in one swift motion. Once he was off balance she flipped him over her shoulder and onto the ground.

Finny was next, trying to grab the doctor when her back was turned towards him. As soon as his gloved hands reached her she whipped around with one leg extended, sweeping him sideways and onto the ground. By then Mey-Rin had her rifle removed from its usual place under her skirts and aimed at Colton. As she fired, her brown eyes lost sight of her target in a blur before the barrel of the rifle was shoved upwards with a _bang. _The bullet chipped the stone pillar and sprinkled them with stone dust.

Mey-Rin breathed in the dust and coughed, bending over slightly. Though she kept a tight grip on her rifle it was ripped from her hands, bruising her fingers. She straightened immediately, however the dust made her impeccable vision worthless. She ran in one direction out of the haze, hearing the sound of wood colliding with bone beside her and a grunt as Bardroy fell to the ground, likely unconscious.

The maid strained her ears to try and hear where her target would emerge from the dust. Finny came from the door to the left of the mvkain staircase, three tightly wrapped bundles of wood in his arms. They stood side by side, waiting for their target to make a move.

As the stone dissipated Mey-Rin narrowed her eyes, she could only see the sleeping form of Bardroy on the ground. There weren't even footprints in the fine power on the floor to lead her to Ms. Colton. She stepped forward with her arms in front of her in a defensive fighting stance, cautious as she looked around the edge of the pillar. As soon as Finny was out of her line of sight she heard the thud of another body falling to the ground, turning to see the gardener knocked out cold on the floor.

Despite her best efforts her heart picked up its pace in fear. Not a sound echoed through the foyer as she situated herself in the center of the room, constantly turning in a circle to try and watch everywhere at once. When she stopped moving for a moment, a growl came from above, but before she could look her world turned black.

o` - 'o

Ciel allowed Tanaka to bathe and dress him for bed once he'd made it to his bedroom. Not a sound echoed throughout the manor as the fight went on where he'd left it.

As much as he hated the thought, the odds were in Colton's favor. The woman had singlehandedly incapacitated and nearly killed Sebastian. The servants were likely no match for her. But the Earl of Phantomhive couldn't sit back and allow her to push him around by staying against his will. He would be looked down upon if he were to let something so simple slide. The Queen's guard dog had an image to maintain, a perfect record to uphold. True, removing the 'doctor' from his manor wasn't a mission assigned to him by Her Majesty but it would be treated as one. He wouldn't be controlled by some commoner, _and a woman no less._

As his steward finished buttoning up his night shirt a knock came from the door. Both he and Tanaka looked up to the door, hesitant. It was either Colton or one of the others, though more than likely the former. Ciel sighed and spoke, "Come in."

And sure enough, the raven haired woman walked into the room with an incredibly smug look on her face. "I'll be needing a room." She said cheerfully.

Ciel's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

(T n T)

After the servants had left Sebastian was left with his thoughts for some time. He suspected Colton would be able to easily defeat them, and given her generosity in healing him (though she'd been the one to wound him in the _first place_), she'd probably refrain from killing them.

It was what he guessed to be around three in the morning when Bardroy returned with Finnian, both of them wordlessly removing the destroyed sheets and changing his attire into something more appropriate. Neither made eye contact, which he was somewhat grateful for. For a Phantomhive butler to fall so low as to be unable to even wash and change himself, it was unacceptable. He would have to do his utmost once recovered for the young master to forgive him for this.

So Sebastian sat in shame as he was taken care of like an infant, and now he lay in his simple room in a simple bed which he had never used before, alone with his thoughts. He often had a lot of time to think, and did so regularly. Once the household was asleep he would usually patrol the halls silently and prepare for the next day, before returning to his assigned room to change his clothes and bathe as necessary. But now the butler was left with extra time to entertain his thoughts.

Colton Venat, an inhuman woman who singlehandedly brought him to death's door with a simple blade. He knew of special weapons used to fight demons specifically, however this was something he had no knowledge of. Sebastian had never seen something like the teal slime that poisoned his veins so efficiently. That, and her strength was equal to his, if not greater. He didn't like the thought of a creature capable of killing demons in the manor with the young master. She could easily snatch his soul away while he was incapacitated, and be gone within the hour.

She had to be dealt with, but how? If he was incapable then it was likely reapers like Grell or that other one wouldn't be able to do much either. But no, she could be beaten. Nothing was invincible, and he simply doubted himself. The woman had caught him off guard that was all. The next time they fought, he wouldn't underestimate his opponent. Then he could continue to serve the young master as planned.

It was only a matter of time.

Thinking of time she said he would take a while to heal, but exactly how long was a while? He needed to return to his master as soon as possible, plus the servants were sure to screw something up and the cat in the garden had yet to be fed today. Oh she was going to be mad and hungry when he returned his midnight beauty.

Sebastian's thoughts were interrupted when the door to his room opened slowly, the person coming through it caused a deep scowl to cross his handsome features.

"You'll get wrinkles if you frown like that all the time, demon or no." She said with a sly smile on her face.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at Colton, sitting up in bed with great difficulty. His crimson eyes examined the clock on his dresser that she was facing. It was six fifty in the morning. He cleared his throat, "Then perhaps, you should vacate, the premises." He managed to get out. The butler wasn't pleased with how gravely his voice sounded.

She entered the room fully and spun in a circle as she reached the dresser. Once facing the piece of furniture, Colton placed both hands on the top drawer and looked over her shoulder to lock eyes with him. "No, that won't be necessary." She lifted one hand to point her index finger upwards in the same manner a tutor would, "In fact I _shan't _be leaving Ciel's side for a while yet, not for anything." She turned back to the dresser and opened the top right drawer, examining his clothing.

"What are, you doing?" He rasped.

The non-human pulled out a pair of black socks and some briefs, also black. "I'm getting dressed."

He narrowed his red eyes at her, "Those are, the clothes given to me, by the young master. They are meant, for a butler." She shrugged and mumbled something about how he seemed like more of a boxers kind of guy.

"Why yes, they are, which is exactly why I'll be wearing them. As you are incapacitated I have decided to replace you."

Sebastian prided himself on his butler's aesthetic and being properly on time, every time. The thought of this, _woman, _filling his position and serving the young master…It made his skin crawl.

She most certainly would_ not_ prepare the young master for the day and night accordingly. She would _not_ save his life when he put himself in danger and prepare his food every day. She _wouldn't_ clean the manor because the servants were too few and too incompetent to do so. She had no incentive to do so, did she?

Rather than ask and voice his thoughts, Sebastian tried a different angle. "Those are, a man's clothes."

She nodded before moving to the wardrobe, having added a shirt and waistcoat to her stolen treasure, "Very observant of you."

"A woman cannot wear a man's clothes, _my clothes_." He added.

She took out a pair of pants and folded them over her arm along with everything else, "That would be implying that you were a man."

His eyebrow twitched, "I can assure you, that I am…" he said, not blinking when the first rays of sunlight came through the window and illuminated his face. That seductive smile found its way onto his features all too easily. "That is unless you would prefer to perform a thorough examination to confirm my claim."

A blush crept up on her cheeks; she would fall for it just like every other woman. Hook, line and-

"Pfft you got to be kidding me!" She bent over laughing. Sebastian's smile faltered. Once calmed, she spoke, "A man is a human male. You are a demon, and therefore not a man. If anything, you're an _it._" Her laugh came back as giggles, "Like a bug."

A_ bug? _

Colton sighed and stood up straight with his clothes in her arms, except she didn't have a tailcoat. "I'll see you later butler." She said dismissively, walking out the door.

Sebastian blinked as the door closed, not sure what to do. That was one of his most alluring looks, and she laughed at him?

/-.-)

Ciel woke as sunlight was released from behind the curtains. He heard Sebastian's footsteps as he walked around the oversized bed and started pouring his morning tea. The young Earl sat up and stretched, yawning into his fist. He waited for Sebastian to hand him his tea while reflecting what he could remember from last night's dream.

"I think that's right." A voice that was certainly _not _Sebastian's came from the cart where his breakfast sat. So no, it wasn't a dream.

He looked up to see Colton staring into the tea with one black-nailed hand holding her chin thoughtfully. She saw him staring in his surprise and asked, "Do you take sugar with your tea?"

"What the hell are you doing here?!" He yelled, covering himself with the covers. His nightshirt didn't reveal much but it stopped mid-thigh.

She rolled her eyes and added a spoonful, no, a spoonful with a miniature mountain on top of it, to his tea. "I'm serving you your morning tea and giving you the newspaper." She informed, tossing said newspaper into his lap ungracefully.

"Why?!" He could feel himself getting angry, this was no good.

Colton handed him the tea and stepped back fluidly, placing her _right _hand over her _left ear_ and bowing at the waist. "Because this is what Tanaka told me to do. He said he'd be unable to serve you today and shrunk to about the size of, well…you." She straightened out and gathered a shirt from the foot of the bed and walked over to him, taking away the tea he hadn't even had a sip of. "Now then, I think you'll have to come to the edge of the mattress for this to work."

He shuffled away from her. "For what to work? _You_ can't be my valet and dress me!" Ciel shouted. Surely one of the servants would hear and come save him?

"And why not?" She pouted, "I've been dressing myself since I was four, I won't mess it up." She reached for him only for the boy to slide further away, and closer to the edge of the mattress.

"Because you're a woman!" He said frantically. Did she honestly expect him to just let her dress and bathe him? It was scandalous!

She leaned back and placed her hands on her hips, wrinkling the shirt, "Why is that a problem? You let a centuries old demon dress you every day. Tell me how that's not creepy or perverted in the slightest."

He sighed, relaxing a bit as she kept away from him. "A female cannot dress a male, it's unheard of." He leveled his icy glare at her.

She held his gaze and neither looked away. Colton finally let out a breath of frustration and put the shirt down. "Fine, plan B it is."

Before he could even register her words Ciel was sitting on the edge of the bed, fully dressed. He felt the air around them settle, messing his hair and the bow around his collar. The child Earl gasped and found his lungs aching for air. His heart pounded and he felt a wave of pain course through his head, leaving a dull throbbing pain. He tried to stand and get away from the woman wearing Sebastian's clothes, only for his muscles to fail to cooperate and send him falling to the floor.

Before he could hit the ground, Colton's arm caught him. He was brought against the woman's strangely warm torso as she set him back on his feet, her hands holding his shoulders until she was confident he would be able to stand.

As soon as her hands left him Ciel turned around and stepped away from her. She watched the Earl back away and sighed, "It'll pass, moving that fast always feels like shit for humans."

He coughed, "How did you- no, it doesn't matter." He composed himself, "I said you couldn't dress me and you did so anyway. You blatantly disobeyed me!"

She blinked, "Well I'm not obligated to. Just because I wear his clothes doesn't mean I'm going to do everything you say like a dog." She informed.

"So what then? What are you going to do to me?" He smirked evilly at her, causing Colton to frown sadly. "If you want my soul I'm afraid you can't have it, Sebastian is the only one who will consume my soul."

She sighed again, "Oh what and is he the only one who can take your virginity too?" She said. As his eyes widened to comical proportions and he sputtered she continued, "I don't eat souls, so no, I don't want yours." She walked over to the door and opened it for him, standing to the side. "Now I believe you have a full schedule today." The woman smiled kindly.

He stood where he was and narrowed his eyes at her. If she didn't want his soul then what did she want? There must be some sort of hidden motive behind her 'serving' him. The only problem was figuring out what that was.

For now though, he would have to tolerate Colton. She didn't seem to want to end his life, however if she was anything it was suspicious. He walked out of his room and into the hallway, headed to the dining room for breakfast as per usual. The only difference was that now, he wasn't thinking about Funtom, the Queen's orders, or the Midfords. Now his thoughts were occupied by the foreign creature behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ah, another late chapter. Yeah sorry about that, I got so side-tracked with marathoning anime I completely forgot about Fanfiction. **

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><p><em>Ils parlent trop, c'est pourquoi tes oreilles sifflent. A qui la faute? C'est la faute à autrui, eh?<em>

_(They talk too much, that's why your ears ring. Who's fault is it? It's someone else's fault eh?)_

_Ta Fête_

Stromae

**(Sorry if my French is botched, I'm not very good at it)**

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><p>Colton Venat was a strange woman, of that Ciel was certain. I had been a week since she healed Sebastian, and she was still playing butler. During that time the Earl had written to the Queen stating that Lady Katherine had been placed under protection, and technically that was true. Except instead of being protected herself, her killer was under guard. Well, as much of a guard as his watchful eye could be. In truth Colton could leave to kill the Marchioness anytime she wanted, and they both knew it.<p>

Colton didn't kill the noble woman though. She seemed perfectly content with serving him in a similar manner to Sebastian. Sometimes he even mixed up the two, and other times they were as opposite as night and day.

One of the biggest similarities was the physical appearance. Colton stood almost as tall as the demon butler did, though maybe a few inches shorter. Her hair fell naturally in the same way Sebastian's did though it came to her shoulders, and her nails were black as his were. She had the same predatory eyes as the butler and she walked in the same silent way he did. That, and they were both unnaturally beautiful.

Behavior wise she liked to make him agitated through teasing with offhand comments and reprimanded his occasional child-like behavior, and she took a kind of creepy pride in serving him, just like Sebastian.

However where there were similarities, there were also differences. Colton never wore a tailcoat or white gloves, and on more than one occasion she had failed to put on shoes. Her skin was a few shades darker than his own, but still easily considered white. She also never bothered to hide any stress; if Sebastian was late for something he would politely excuse himself from the room and disappear, whereas Colton would simply bolt out of the room. She rarely hid any expression but was incredibly hard to read. For example, she might be laughing at one of the other servant's antics but was truly near blind rage. Sebastian was perfect in everything he did, striving for excellence and precise timing. Colton on the other hand, rarely did anything successfully. Such as when it came to cooking….

"_What is this?" Ciel had asked with a disgusted undertone as she showed him his breakfast the first day she started serving him as a butler._

_Colton looked down at the now uncovered dish, "They're strawberry vanilla crêpes." They both stared down at the abomination, Ciel with confusion and Colton with admiration. _

_On the fine china plate was a raw egg, sprinkled over with flower and salt. Milk and melted butter was poured around the rim of the plate, in the middle of the egg a strawberry sat on its base. There was also a vanilla bean on the side. The only thing that looked somewhat presentable was the glass of orange juice, even if it was set on the wrong side of the plate. Ciel watched as a long orange peel floated up out of the juice to the top of the glass._

Never mind…

"_What makes you think this presentable?!" He shouted after a moment of observation. Colton stepped to the side to look at him. _

"_It looks normal to me." She mumbled. _

"_Normal? Not only did you fail to cook the crêpe, you didn't even mix the ingredients!" She looked down to see he had started to turn red in the face._

_The woman took the 'food' away and placed it back on the cart, "Well sorry but I've never had to cook human food before. It's not my fault if the food wasn't perfect."_

"_It wasn't even food."_

"_That doesn't even make sense!" She complained, "You can't make a dish out of ingredients that aren't food. Therefore you should be able to eat the ingredients separately." She stuck her nose in the air in defiance and started to leave the room with the cart._

_Ciel let a sigh escape and rubbed his temples, "Just have Tanaka make me something then."_

That morning, Ciel had been forced to settle for a bowl of assorted fruit seeing as Tanaka had been stuck in his more useless form. He had the same thing the next day, and the next day, and the next day…

You get the picture.

Lunch and dinner went in a similar fashion, except she had merely placed raw meat and vegetables on his plate. The inhuman woman seemed to not understand the concept of cooking anything. And with baking…

"_I'm hungry, make something sweet." He ordered her as she dusted the books in his office. That was one thing she seemed good at, cleaning easily replaceable objects. They were down seven vases since she started._

_Colton turned to him with an inquisitive look on her face. "I thought snacks had to be nutritious…" She stated._

_Ciel saw his golden opportunity, "I'm afraid you are incorrect, all snacks are meant to be sweet. A snack is a premature dessert if you will." _

_She hummed in thought and shrugged, twirling the feather duster in between her long fingers. "I guess that makes sense. Alright then, a sweet snack is on its way!" She smiled manically, revealing her fangs, and left the room in haste, leaving the duster behind. That woman could certainly be childish at times._

_Ciel relaxed in his chair and sighed; relieved he managed to get her out of the room and to make him something he wanted. Sebastian would have argued that a sweet at this time of day would ruin his appetite for dinner and increase the risk of cavities. Colton, on the other hand, was none the wiser. He didn't know where she came from, but he was happy wherever it was didn't have the same customs as his culture did. _

_His thoughts were interrupted when she came into the room with the steel cart and a covered dish on top. She had a proud smile on her face and a confident gleam in her cerulean eyes. "A sweet snack, as requested." She announced, setting the dish down on his desk. The plate made an audible clink as she failed to place it on the table smoothly. _

This is either going to be really good, or really bad… _he thought nervously. _

_And as she lifted the dome shaped cover, it turned out to be bad. _

_Really, _really _bad._

_A live mouse sat rolling in powdered sugar on his plate. The vermin had a biscuit in its tiny pink paws and looked up at him with beady little eyes. The mouse blinked and continued eating the biscuit, its fragile whiskers quivering as it nibbled away. _

_Ciel sighed and looked up at Colton. She wasn't looking at him, but frowning at the mouse. "What, in the _hell_, is _this_?" he said calmly. _

_She turned to him as if he weren't there before, "I didn't think the mouse would eat the biscuit, honestly." She said sadly. _

"_Why is there a _mouse _on the plate?" He growled, barely managing to get out the words without shouting at her in rage. _

_She awkwardly hugged the cover over her torso in an embarrassed manner, "Well don't humans eat mice?"_

_The mouse paused in its nibbling to look at Colton, its furry gaze expressionless. _

"_No…"_

_It went back to nibbling._

_One of her thin ebony eyebrows rose questioningly, "Then why do you have so many in the manor?"_

Needless to say it was stressful living in the same building as that woman. Oddly enough, she got along with the servants rather well, and none of them had messed up anything in anyway in the past week. Finny didn't annihilate the gardens, Mey-Rin didn't destroy any dishes, and Bard hadn't caused any explosions in the kitchen. It seemed that as he gained one good thing, he lost another.

Colton also treated him as less of a master and more of a friend, though technically she wasn't his servant and had no reason to treat him as such. Every commoner knew to behave around an Earl, everyone except Colton.

She invaded his personal space on more than one occasion and spent much longer than necessary picking out his outfits for the day, rather than using the pre-selected outfits that sat on their individual hangers. She never did anything improper while dressing him though. She'd recite his schedule (Thank God Sebastian planned things weeks in advance) and managed to dress him perfectly, always taking extra care to make sure there were no wrinkles or unnecessary folds in his attire. It was during this time that he had the opportunity to see that she took similar care in her own appearance. While Sebastian looked perfect in his clothes she looked surreal. Everything was naturally imperfect in _some_ way, except Colton and the way she dressed.

She also didn't like things to be messed or dirty. If she ever walked into his study while he was working and the papers on his desk were spread out, she'd approach him and straighten them without his consent.

The odd woman also bowed with her right hand over her left ear, rather than her left hand over her heart. He didn't know what that was about, and didn't ask. He also noticed that she had the habit of staring off into a random direction when she did something, sometimes stopping mid-sentence. Colton also flinched whenever there was a loud noise, leading him to suspect she had sensitive hearing. The Earl of Phantomhive collected all these tid-bits of data to tell Sebastian when he recovered and returned to fulfill his part of the contract as his butler.

Given the unusually warm fall weather, he was currently sitting in the outer gardens under a willow tree that was large enough to have adequate room for a table and chairs. The tree had been cut on one side, giving him a perfect view of the creek that ran down to the ruins of the old manor. The tallest remaining scorched wall of the original Phantomhive manor was visible if one was tall enough to look over the bushes and small trees. As it was he couldn't see the old building, nor did he wish to. Colton served him afternoon tea as the sun picked up speed in it's decent in the sky while he read recent reports on criminal activity with minor interest before moving to the newspaper he hadn't finished that morning due to a certain…incident…

_The 'butler' withdrew books from the shelf in the library, examining the titles and placing them back. She had a small pile of books to read growing on the side table, all of them being fiction novels. As she pulled another book down her blue eyes saw the one next to it lacked any inscription on the biding or the cover. Curious, she pulled the unlabeled book out and found that it rotated on its corner stiffly, followed by a resounding click in the woodwork of the bookshelf. She froze, uncertain, before her nose picked up the smell of incredibly stale air. _

_Colton pulled the book back again, but the entire bookshelf moved with it. Backing up, she saw the bookshelf was actually a door, leading to a dark and narrow passageway. The woman stood there for a few moments, trying to figure out what this was. The corridor was clearly not to be found easily, and it was poorly cared for. _

_She went into the narrow hallway and found it ran parallel with the wall, until she came to an intersection six meters in. With a shrug, she decided to turn right; her pupils expanding until a near invisible strip of her blue iris remained, allowing her to see the way ahead with perfect clarity._

_The passage kept going until she came to a dead end with a lever on the right. Deciding on pulling it, Colton stood in mild surprise as the dead end opened up and she was soon looking into Ciel's office. _

_He was watching her with a blank look on his face, which she translated to agitation, and set the papers he was shuffling down. He went back to work wordlessly and she spoke._

"_Did you know there's a series of tunnels in your manor?" She asked in her usually curious voice._

"_Yes Colton, I knew. And they're called secret passages, not tunnels."_

"_It's like a giant worm carved them out." She said, he hummed in response. "Why do you have these?"_

_Ciel sighed and rubbed his temples with one hand, "It's to be used in case of emergencies, if I had to leave the manor in a hurry and didn't want anyone to find me for example. It isn't uncommon for nobility and royalty to have these in their homes."_

"_Oh." She said quietly. He found she could be very child-like in some ways, "It smells like a dead rat in here." Ciel looked up to see she was still standing in the doorway. _

"_The air is just stale, that's all. Sebastian cleans them once a year, but since they aren't used that often it doesn't make sense for them to be cleaned so regularly. That would just alert potential enemies to their location anyway."_

_She stood there for a few moments longer before speaking, "Then I'll clean them." He rolled his eyes and let her walk back into the corridor, closing the hidden door behind her. _

_The Earl went back to work and relaxed in his plush chair, sifting through logistics reports. _The Paris branch is in need of additional funding… _he thought dully. He took out a clean sheet of watermarked paper with the Phantomhive seal on it and picked up a fountain pen in his right hand. As Ciel began to write a letter informing he understood the need for financial aid and was sending funds within the next quarter, the secret passageway door slammed open, hitting the wall in its speed as a gust of cold air shot out of the passageway and into the room. _

_The papers on his desk took flight and swirled in the current as the extremely strong blast of air tore through the room before stopping. Ciel sat, stunned in his chair, as dust, dirt and spider webs settled on every available surface in his office. _

"_There, much better." A feminine voice from inside the corridor said, and she was damn well pleased with herself._

_Colton walked into his office while straightening her waistcoat. It didn't take her long to notice how filthy the room was now. She turned to look at Ciel, who sat with a deep scowl on his red face and a vein appearing on his forehead as a spider floated down in front of him. _

_She looked disgusted by the now dirty work space, "What did you do in here?" _

And so, as Colton had the other servants clean his office she served him Keemun tea with an assortment of finger sandwiches. He didn't dare touch the small food items in fear of poisoning himself. He did sip the hot beverage though, tea being the only thing she seemed to get the hang of so far. A gentle breeze whipped the looser flowers off the tree and into the air around them. It was the picture of serenity, but the Phantomhive child didn't spend his time admiring the beauty.

Colton on the other hand, did. She never stood still for one moment, always looking around the tree or sitting by the creek. One thing Ciel did notice is that she never went too far. She also periodically stared into the woods across the creek more often than not. He hadn't the slightest idea what she was doing, but as long as she wasn't bothering him he didn't care. She was sitting in the lower branches of the tree behind him when she asked him a question.

"What's that building over there?" He needn't know which building she was talking about, there was only one she would be interested in.

"The ruins of the old manor." He said with little interest. What was interesting was the scandalous story on page C8, _that's the third one in this paper alone_.**  
><strong>

"There was an old manor?" Colton questioned, sounding thoughtful. He noticed the birdsong had quieted down.

Ciel sighed and examined the photo on the page. "Yes, it burned down three years ago." _Baron Victor Ashmore was cheating on his wife of ten years with the pageboy? Honestly where do they find this trash? _

He heard her shifting in the tree, "So the one you use now is three? Why didn't you rebuild the old one?"

"It wasn't my decision." He mumbled into his teacup. _Ashmore…wasn't he the weapons manufacturer?_

Colton was silent after that, minding her own business. When he finished his tea he heard her jump down from the branch, along with the sound of a flock of birds suddenly taking flight. The startled Earl looked behind him to see they were taking off from where she had been sitting.

The 'butler' wordlessly collected the china set out in front of him while he continued with the paper. Once the dirty dishes had been packed away into the chest meant to hold them on the short walk back to the manor, she stood back in the shade of the tree.

That was another thing, Colton didn't like being in direct sunlight for too long. Ciel first noticed it when he had his breakfast in the greenhouse on the third day of her 'employment'; she had tried to hide behind a banana tree.

"So why are you an Earl?" She asked, her voice holding nothing but curiosity, "Doesn't that kind of position only go to adults?"

A baritone voice spoke from to his left on the outside of the tree, "I do believe that is none of your business Ms. Venat." Sebastian stepped through the blossoms and under the tree with them. Ciel started and looked at his butler, wide-eyed. He quickly recovered and frowned when he noticed Colton hadn't reacted at all.

Sebastian looked over him quickly to ensure his safety before locking eyes with the inhuman creature to his left, drawing four silver knives from his tailcoat, "And I will be needing that uniform back."

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><p><strong>After some investigation I found out I got the time of year 100% wrong and I've gone back to fix the description in some chapters. If anyone sees that I've missed a line and it says this story is taking place in spring and not winterfall, please let me know.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh this is so late, so ungodly late. **

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><p>"<em>The bees had declared a war; the sky wasn't big enough for them all."<em>

_Dirty Paws_

Of Monsters and Men

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><p>She narrowed her eyes at the butler, frowning at his presence. He looked as perfect as he had when they met a little over a week ago, but her precise cyan eyes could see the slight stiffness in his arms. The demon was still healing, and in no position to be fighting her now. He seemed to know this, at least at the subconscious level, but the cocky bastard was too proud to admit it. His self-harming behavior briefly reminded Colton of the young human beside her.<p>

She tilted her head to the side slightly and smirked, eyes gleaming, "I honestly didn't expect you to be out of bed so soon." She rolled up her sleeves as if she had all the time in the world, and a demon standing six meters away didn't want her blood spilt, "But you're still weak, I'd beat the shit out of you if we fought now."

His eyebrow twitched as her grin widened and small canines were revealed, shining white. She'd hit the nail on the head.

"I'm afraid you underestimate me miss." He nearly growled. Sebastian faced his contractor, "Young master, your orders?"

The butler smirked like he expected Ciel to shout for him to demolish her, but he hesitated a bit. She couldn't help but feel victorious as the demon's expression soured for a fraction of a second. Still, the boy wasn't silent long.

"Sebastian! I order you to remove Colton from the grounds at once!" he shouted with all the authority of a grown man.

She was slightly surprised that he hadn't ordered Sebastian to kill her, and that he had used her name. From the look on his face it seemed Sebastian was shocked as well. That didn't stop him from smirking and bowing slightly, the knives still in his hand. "Yes, my lord."

Colton sighed and got into the laziest possible battle stance, rolling her eyes at this display. It was obvious (to her at least) that Sebastian was weaker than she, even when he was at his best. The demon would end up getting himself hurt even more, and she wouldn't heal him again. There was nothing in this world that could make her willingly put her mouth on that disgusting creature again, she didn't even want to think about the taste of his blood. Colton had to restrain from throwing up at the memory.

Sebastian threw the knives in his left hand in one swift swipe, careful not to hit Ciel by her side. She twisted to the right in a complete circle, almost like she was dancing. The knives embedded themselves in the willow tree and were soon joined by a set of forks. The second time, the silverware became embedded far less into the trunk. _So that's his weak side _she thought, eyeing the right half of his ribcage.

The red eyed man advanced and gathered Ciel in his long arms before leaping into the tree from the table. Colton didn't pursue them, only turning around slowly to watch. She knew he'd come after her, and didn't feel like moving more than necessary. She didn't like this butler, didn't like his stubbornness and over confidence.

Sure enough, as Ciel was placed upon a sturdy branch the demon jumped down to the base of the tree. He used his left hand to pull the knives out of the tree, even though they were on his right side; he was unconsciously showing his weakness.

"I must say, I find you rather interesting." He said while walking slowly her way. She made no move whatsoever. "Still, my master's orders have been made clear."

Her eyes flickered to the bluenette in the tree. They locked eyes and his looked away first, her's widening in surprise. Ciel wasn't sure about his order. Despite her eagerness to be his butler over the past week Colton knew that she wasn't the best at what she did, that title probably belonged to Sebastian. Her objective was to get closer to him, but she didn't expect him to be this unsure about getting rid of her this quickly.

Well lucky for little Phantomhive she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He threw the knives again, darting forward as she dodged them to send a powerful right hook her way. She caught sight of it in time to lean back, but the tips of his glove-clad knuckles brushed her turned up nose roughly. The second punch was an uppercut, one she easily dodged by turning to the left. As his fist passed over her, Colton's leg shot out at a speed even he couldn't catch, and slammed into his wounded side.

Sebastian gasped audibly and grunted as he took a step back, his eyes widening in realization. Before he could fully recover she planted the raised leg and spun around again in the opposite direction, her left shin colliding with his now bruised flesh. The _thud _resounded in his ribcage, shaking the butler. Her kicks were far too quick for him to catch, but eventually he did get away. Jumping two meters back his right arm was drawn in in a defensive position, a bead of sweat marred his perfect brow.

She smiled evilly, her pupils narrowing. Sebastian raised both arms to block her when she swung a leg at his face, catching the offending limb and holding it so she was caught in an awkward position. The woman only deepened her grin and revealed her fangs again before leaping up and twisting around the caught leg. Sebastian pushed her away once he realized where the next kick was headed but she already had the momentum, and her shin hit his skull with a resounding crack. Even the butler was surprised by the amount of force behind the blow as he stumbled sideways.

Colton's mood did a 180 and she resumed her bored stance, watching him with lazy eyes. "What did I say?" She asked, her tone patronizing and motherly, "You can't handle me like this, or even when you're fully healed. Face it butler I'm stronger, no, _better_ than you."

An uncomfortable silence enveloped them. Ciel's eyes were wide while he watched the scene below. Sebastian glared defiantly, unable to accept the truth. She imagined that in all his years he hadn't come across someone who could be deemed superior to him in strength in quite a while. Well, things were going to change.

She darted towards him in a blur of black and white, her right leg snapping out to hit his wounded torso with a _thump_ and send him flying sideways. Sebastian hit the ground roughly, a trail of red seeping from his mouth. Colton looked at him with what could be seen as pity, swiping nonexistent dust from her pants. She was about to finish packing the dishes when he sat up, the strain written all over his face.

Colton sighed, "Don't tell me you want to die." She mumbled, though he could hear.

Sebastian laughed humourlessly, "My master's orders remain. I _will _remove you from the estate." His eyes melted into flaming pink with cat-like pupils. "Your behavior is crass and intolerable for any servant, let alone a _butler_." He managed to gasp out.

She could hear Ciel shift in his seat behind her.

"Your master's orders will be the end of you." She played the card just right.

Ciel coughed, "Sebastian, stop." He said, unsure of himself.

The demon looked up with disbelief "Young master?"

"Leave her be. Colton will stay with us as a guest." He explained. Sebastian had a hand to his side as he tried to comprehend what just happened.

Colton, on the other hand, was already back at the table, everything packed and beside it. She calmly walked towards Ciel to get him down from the tree, which is when Sebastian stepped in her way, getting his young master down himself. When the demon faced her again his eyes were back to their dried blood colour, and glared strongly at her. She only glared back, her lips curled in a silent snarl.

The young Earl pretended not to notice their exchange, walking back towards the manor once set on his feet. Sebastian left the dishes for her to carry, and she did.

TnT

Ciel didn't speak to him until that night, having locked himself in his office the entire day with the newspaper from that morning. The young master was seated upon his bed as Sebastian buttoned up his nightshirt with deft fingers, any and all traces of his earlier injury now hidden from the child's eyes. An indescribable silence enveloped them, tension threatening to rise. The servant knew his brow was knitted in frustration, an error on his usually unreadable face, yet he couldn't bring himself to correct it.

His master of three years had ordered him to first get rid of Colton (sadly not an order to kill), and now he was to treat her as a guest. She, the woman of an unknown species who had spent the past week with _his _master, filling his head with God knows what and possibly corrupting _his _contract. He'd worked too hard and too long for this meal, and wouldn't let it be snatched away so easily. How long had he starved himself now? Certainly before this contract. But the real question was how long was he willing to wait?

Sebastian was no child among his kind, and only now did he submit to one rare delicacy rather than a mass of bland souls he wouldn't remember. Truth be told his current prey was entertaining at times enough that he wished the contract would last longer. In his infinite life few things held his attention long, and though three years wasn't a great expanse of time Sebastian found amusement and an odd comfort by being a butler. At first it had been a humiliating hell as mistake after mistake made him feel incompetent. However as the failure of a servant became increasingly perfect he found a certain pleasure in fulfilling his role to the utmost. One could say he'd become obsessed with it.

"Sebastian…" The Earl said softly, sounding nowhere near sleepy despite the late hour.

He stood fully and bowed ever so slightly, "Yes young master?"

The child leaned back on his hands, watching him carefully, "Colton Venat is a terrible butler. She manages to mess up the simplest of tasks, and doesn't seem to comprehend the concept of cooking food." Sebastian straightened; this was a briefing on his master's week. "She doesn't like to wear shoes or gloves, and her nails seem to be naturally black like yours. In fact she resembles your appearance greatly, despite some differences. She's very sensitive to sound and doesn't like being in direct sunlight for any longer than necessary, especially in warm places like the greenhouse. Her sense of respect is convoluted and her idea of customs seems only slightly similar to that of English society."

Sebastian didn't say a word when the Earl paused, merely standing there with a thoughtful frown on his face.

"It's safe to say she knows little of human habits and behavior. She's also extremely fastidious and is obsessed with cleaning and the outdoors. Her curiosity is insatiable and she often stares off in one direction or another at seemingly random intervals, I can't say I know why." He scooted back and buried himself under the covers. Sebastian approached the bed with candelabra in hand.

"What would you have me do young master?" He asked, his voice smoother than usual and a mere mumble. The child Earl yawned at the sound and closed his eyes, he couldn't have his young master staying awake when he needed rest now could he?

"Watch her, gain any information you can by any means necessary. But don't harm her, she'll defend herself and injure you further." He whispered. Sebastian's eyes widened marginally, was he concerned for his own wellbeing or that woman's?

The fiend stood and waited for his charge to fall asleep even though he wasn't ordered to. Either the child was too worn out to notice or he didn't care, because not a word was spoken until he was dreaming.

"Yes, my lord."

~(=u=)~

Sebastian Michaelis was one hell of a butler. As well as one hell of a chef, maid, and gardener (when need be).

He considered himself to be one hell of a seducer, lover, and heartbreaker.

He was also one hell of a sore loser.

The Phantomhive butler was walking down the hall on the first floor of the manor, unlit candelabra in hand. He didn't want to be bothered by the servants; in fact he was sure that if the candle was lit and dripped wax on his hand he would have to explain to the young master in the morning why the west wing of the manor was flattened to the ground. No, that would be most unbecoming of a butler.

So the devil resigned himself to walking in dark silence, rage brewing under the surface of his otherwise blank features. When he was _truly _angry, the rigid man was very capable of hiding it. The servants' antics only agitated him. He reached his assigned room for what would be a rare, relaxing opportunity to sleep and opened the door, mentally patting himself on the back for not going into a rage. The dam would hold and everything would be ok.

"What crawled up your butt?"

Said dam cracked slightly, but the water remained. Sebastian stood in his doorway, doing his best to make sense of the sight before him.

The room was completely dark, but he could see her perfectly. Colton Venat was in _his _bed, looking over a book through the glasses _he _wore whenever he played tutor. He didn't actually need them, but they made him feel somewhat more scholarly. She wore his pants and shirt, the waistcoat was folded over the chair by his bed. Her bare toes with black nails wiggled from under the sheets as she burrowed under the covers some more, her icy eyes locked onto his in an unblinking defiant stare while she did so.

Sebastian took the time to count to ten and spoke, "Ms. Colton, what a surprise." She blinked, smiling. "It is entirely improper for a guest to be found in a servant's bed, especially in your state of dress."

She looked rather uninterested in his words, and returned to her book. "Hm, well I can't sleep in the guest beds." She said monotonously.

Sebastian mustered the strength to enter the room without mauling her, remembering his master's orders. He smiled the way he did when he was about to kill someone, "And why might that be?"

"Too big, they're queen sized beds." Colton didn't even look up from her book.

The butler was silent for a moment after that, staring her down. When his gaze became too unbearable to be ignored she looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes. "I thought it would be ok with you, seeing as demons don't _need _to sleep at all…" She blinked three times.

His grip tightened in the candelabra, denting the brass, "No of course," He said headily, she smiled in response, "As a Phantomhive butler I shall do the utmost to ensure our guest is as comfortable as possible." He turned slowly on that note, walking out the door with stiff strides.

When the butler was headed back down the hall once again (having decided that instead of sleeping, he'd be patrolling the halls), he relaxed his grip on the candelabra, frowning upon the sight of the now deformed brass stem.

"Marvelous…" he growled, his eyes flashing pink and the coattails of his uniform extending into shadows as he continued his rounds.


End file.
